Brits were on parade last night at the White House, as some of the cream of home-grown entertainment talent were among guests invited to dinner with Barack and Michelle Obama in honour of the Prime Minister's state visit to Washington.

Actors Damian Lewis, Idris Elba and Downton Abbey stars Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern were on the guest-list for a very Brit-friendly evening, that mixed entertainment with other British luminaries who've made their name across the Atlantic.

Homeland star Lewis arrived at the glitzy event, with his wife Helen McCrory, star of Hugo and the Harry Potter films.

Harvey Weinstein was in attendance, with his British designer wife Georgina Chapman, as well as Anna Wintour, the iconic boss of Vogue, her crisp English tones belying several decades of living in the US.

Jonathan Ive, Apple's creative director, also broke away from reinventing the way computers look, to take a meal with the likes of George Clooney, who was seated next to Michelle Obama for dinner.

The Wire star Idris Elba was also there, along with Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson.

English folk-rock band Mumford & Sons - a favourite of Mrs Cameron - and US R&B star John Legend provided musical entertainment, while produce from the White House's own kitchen gardens was used in the "winter harvest"-themed meal.

The US President praised the Camerons for their "strength" as parents as he toasted them at the dinner, held in a marquee on the South Lawn.